Automatic margin bar for duplicating machines



Feb. 9; 1932. J, J, FLANIGAN 1,844,245

AUTOMATIC MARGIN B R FOR DUPLICATING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 1932- J. J. FLANIGAN AUTOMATIC MARGIN BAR FOR DUPLICATING MACHINES Filed June 5, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 9, 1932 UNITED STATES FFEE JOHN FLANIGAN, 01 OAK PARK, ILLENOIfi Application filed June 5, 1929. Serial No. 368,683.

My invention relates improvements in duplicating machines particularly of the type which have a gelatin impression bed and a relatively movable platen carriage for impressing the sheets upon the bed.

The principal object of my invention is to provide an automatic margin bar for machines of this type adapted to be moved into and out of position with respect to the sheet.

Another object is to adapt a: machine of this type to certain classes of work by automatically removing the margin bar from position while an impression is being made whereby to facilitate the removal of the sheet by hand.

Another object is to provide means for locking the margin bar in position when it is not desired to operate the margin bar automatically.

Another object is to provide a novel auto- 2 matic margin bar which will be controlled by the platen carriage in proper time relation to the movements thereof.

Other objects of my invention will appear hereinafter.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a transverse section of a duplicating machine frame and platen carriage showing my automatic margin bar mechanism;

Fig. 2 is an end view of the structure shown in Fig. 1 with the platen carriage and margin bar in position to receive an inserted sheet;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 except that the platen carriageis shown as having moved forward on its impression stroke and the margin bar as having receded from the end of the bed;

Fig. 4 is a detail showing the means for locking the margin bar in its operating position; and

Fig. 5 is a detail view showing the means for adjusting the margin bar on its support. The invention is shown in the drawings as embodied in a duplicating machine of the 45. type constituting the subject matter of my copending application Serial No 344,203, filed March 5, 1929 but it is to be understood that my invention is not limited to use in connection with this particular structure.

Duplicating machines of this type employ a gelatin band for transferring an impres sion from an original writing to successive sheets impressed thereon. The gelatin band 7 A is stretched over a horizontal bed plate B mounted at the top of the frame members 1 of the machine and is adapted to be wound upon spools at the ends of the bed. These spools, not shown, are located beneath the bed plate and the band inclines downwardly at each end of the bed to its respective]. spool.

'The bed plate has rollers at its end over which the band travels. One of these rollers 2 is shown at the forward end of the bed plate in Figs. 1 and 2. The platen carriage C bridges the bed plate-and gelatin band and is adapted to reciprocate along the-bed for the purpose of impressing the sheets 3 upon the gelatin band. At one side the platen carriage is supported by rollers 1 adapted to travel along a track 5 on the frame 1. At its other side the carriage frame is supported by a guide rod 6 disposed beneath the top of the frame Fig. 1. The carriage frame has a downwardly extending arm 0 at the lower end of which is a sleeve 7 adapted to travel on the guide rod 6. The sleeve carries a mum ber of radially disposed anti-friction rollers 8 which ride on the guide rod 6.

A platen roller 9 and a grip roller 10 are mounted in the carriage in position to receive the sheet 3 from the sheet guide 11 and impress the sheet upon the gelatin band as the carriage moves forward along the bed plate onits impression stroke, and to withdraw the sheet from the gelatin band on the return stroke of the carriage. The platen roller is arranged to be swung upwardly, as indicated in dotted lines Fig. 2, for insertion and re moval of the sheet. When a sheet is inserted between the platen and grip rollers its edge is received against a margin bar 12 which extends across the forward end of the bed adjacent the gelatin band. The function of this margin bar is to properly position each sheet as it is inserted, and thereby register the sheet with the impression on the gelatin band, the sheet being inserted, of course, when the platen carriage is at the limit of its movement and ready to start forward on its impression stroke. The margin bar 12 is formed as an angle bar, one flange of which extends vertically and the other flange of which is positioned horizontally in substantially the plane of the gelatin band on the bed plate. The edge of this horizontal flange is positioned adjacent to the band where it passes over the roller 2.

In operating duplicating machines, of this character it is customary to insert a sheet between the platen and grip rollers and against the margin bar, lower the platen roller as shown in Fig. 2, and then move the platen carriage forward until a suflicient length of the sheet has been impressed upon the band to cover the ink impression on the band. The movement of the platen carriage is then reversed and the platen and grip rollers reverse rotation and withdraw the sheet from contact with the gelatin surface. When the carriage reaches the limit of its return stroke the printed sheet is withdrawn by the operator as easily as it was inserted. There are a great many classes'of work in which it is very desirable and in fact some .times necessary to run the carriage beyond the-end of the sheet on its impression stroke. Instances of this kind exist in running sheets the length of the impression surface, or'when the impression extends so close to the end of the sheet that there is not sur'licient margin left to be gripped by the rollers. In the case of postal cards or other stiff cards it is desirable to run the platen beyond the card. In such instances all of the sheet is contact withthe gelatin surface with the exception of that portion of the sheet which extends into the margin bar beyond the .band when the margin bar is in gauging position and hence there is no portion of the sheet accessible for the operator to take hold of for stripping it from the gelatinsurface.

In accordance with the present invention, however, the margin bar is automatically withdrawn from margin gauging position wherein it is in engagement with the sheet so as to leave the extended end of the sheet 'free and clear of any mechanism. The operator may then readily grasp hold of the extended end 3 of the sheet and strip the sheet from the gelatin band at the end of the forward impression stroke and beforethe re: turn stroke of the carriage. The margin bar is withdrawn from position while the carriage is onits forward stroke and is restored to position during the return stroke of the carriage. These operations preferably take place in a definite timed relation to the movement of the platen carriage.

The margin bar is mounted on a frame or yoke which consists of a horizontal bar 15 bolted at its ends to downwardly and rearwardly extending arms 16. These arms at their lower ends are pinned to a transverse rock shaft 17 which is journaled in suitable bearings in the frame members 1. The rock .ber, Figs. 2 and 3.

shaft has a crank portion 18 at one end which carries a roller 19. The roller lies in the path of and is adapted to be engaged by a cam plate 20. The cam plate 20 is fastened by means of the bolts 21 to the downwardly extending portion 22 of the platen carriage C. The forward end portion 23 .of this cam plate is turned laterally and engages a bumper 24, preferably made of rubber, and fastened on the under side of the frame mem- This bumper forms a stop to limit the movement of the platen carriage and hence determines the position of the platen roller with respect to the margin bar.

Thelower edge 25 of the plate 20 is formed as acam to engage the roller 19 on the crank and rock the [shaft to swing the margin bar and its supporting yoke so that the marginv bar will move through an arctangential to the plane of the sheet when it is rested on the gelatin band. The lay-out of the cam is such that the roller rides on to the high part 25 of the cam and swings the margin bar upwardlyinto position adjacent the end of the bed in advance of the platen reaching the limit of its return stroke, the cam being gradual enough to avoid throwing the margin bar violently into position. Thehigh portion 25 of the cam-will retain the margin bar in margin I gauging position for .a short time after the carriage startsforward on its impression stroke, and will then permit the margin bar to swing downwardly due to the weight of its supporting yoke. The margin bar is thus entirely automatic in its operation. It is controlled entirely by the movement of the platen carriage and requires no attention on the part of the operator. The margin bar is swung through an arc tangential to the plane of thesheet when itis rested on the gelatin band and into, margin gauging position before the platen carriage reaches the end of its return stroke and it is retained in this position until the platen carriage has traveled forward sufficiently .on its impression stroke to insure the registration of the sheet in contact withthe gelatin surface. It is then automatically removed from position, leaving the extending end 3 Fig. 3 of the sheet exposed for'the operator. The

parts are so arranged that the margin 'ba-r Fig. 3 is swung forwardly and downwardly into the frame and below the plane of the gelatin surface so that the operator has free and unobstructed access to the end of the sheet. By timin the operation of the margin bar in this manner the machine is made adaptable to any length of sheet. For instance even though the sheet may be comparatively short, the margin bar will have been removed before the platen runs beyond the end of the sheet.

A stop. lug 27 is mounted on the inner side of the frame 1 and adaptedto be engaged by one of the arms 16 of the margin bar yoke. This prevents any possibility of the margin bar being swung too close to the gelatin band. The stop lug 27 is in the form of a screw having an eccentrically disposed head and by rotating it slightly its effect as a stop may be adjusted to correspond to the high part 25 of the cam.

The margin bar is mounted on a flat strip 28 which rests upon and is fastened to the yoke bar 15 by the screws 29. These screws pass through holes 30 in the strip 28 but the holes are elongated to permit adjustment of the margin bar on its supporting yoke accurately with respect to the gelatin band.

If it is desired to use the machine in the usual manner when the workis of such character that the automatic margin bar is unnecessary, the margin bar may be locked up in position by means of a latch 33. This latch is pivotally mounted at 34s to the frame and normally hangs down clear of the mar gin bar yoke. To look the margin bar in position the operator simply swings the latch about its pivot until it engages one of the arms 16 of the margin bar yoke, Fig. 4. This holds the yoke in position against the stop lug 2'7, and holds the crank out of contact with the cam 25.

I am aware that changes in the construe tion and arrangement may be made with out departing from the scope and spirit of the invention, and I reserve the right to make such changes as fairly fall within the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. In a duplicating machine the combination of a gelatin impression bed and a platen carriage relatively movable thereover, a margin bar at the end of said bed for positioning a sheet adapted to be laid upon said bed by said carriage, and means controlled by said carriage for moving the margin bar through an arc tangential to the plane of the sheet when it is laid upon the bed to locate said margin bar in margin gauging position.

2. In a duplicating machine the combination of a gelatin impression bed, a margin bar movable into and from gauging position whereby a sheet engaged therewith may subsequently be laid upon said bed, a platen carriage movable along said bed to and from said margin bar, and means operated by said carriage for moving said margin bar through an arc tangential to the plane of the sheet when it is laid upon said bed to locate said margin bar in margin gauging position in predetermined timed relation to the movement of the carriage.

- the bed to gauge the position of the sheet relative to said bed, and mounted for movement away from the sheet, a platen carriage movable along said bed for impressing the sheet on the bed, and means operated by said carriage for moving said margin bar through an arc tangential to the plane of the sheet When it is impressed on said bed to locate said margin bar to gauge the position of the sheet.

4. In a duplicating machine the combination of a gelatin impression bed, a margin bar arranged adjacent the end of the bed-to be engaged by the sheet when inserted into the machine, means supporting said margin bar for movement to and from position, a platen carriage for impressing the sheet upon the bed, and means automatically operating said margin bar supporting means to move the margin bar through an arc tangential to the plane of the sheet when it'is impressed upon the bed to move said margin bar from a normal position into a position whereat the sheet may be engaged therewith, said automatically operating means functioning during the return stroke of the carriage, said margin bar returning to said normal position during the impression stroke of the carriage.

5. In a duplicating machine the combination of an impression bed, a platen carriage reciprocablealong said bed, a margin bar positioned at one end of the bed to be engaged by the-sheet inserted in said platen carriage and adapted to recede through an arc tangential to the plane of thesheet during the impression stroke of the carriage, and means controlled by the carriage on its return stroke for restoring the margin device to position.

6. In a duplicating machine the combination of agelatin impression bed, a platen carriage reciprocable relatively to said bed, a margin bar mounted to move automatically from the end of the bed, a crank arm connected to said margin bar for moving the margin bar toward the end of the bed, and a member carried by the platen carriage and having. a formed portion below'the plane of the bed for controlling movement of said crank during the impression and return stroke of the carriage.

7. In a duplicating machine the combination of a gelation impression bed, a platen carriage reciprocable relatively. to said bed, a margin bar mounted to move automatically from the bed, a crank arm connected to'said margin bar for moving the margin bartoward the end of the bed, a member carried by the platen carriage for controlling movement of said crank during the impression and return stroke of the carriage, and an adjustable stop for determining the limit of movement of the margin bar with respect to the end of the bed.;

8. In a duplicating machine the combination of agelatin impression bed to the platen carriage reciprocable along said bed, a margin bar mounted to move automaticallyfrom the end-of the bed, a crank arm connected to inc its

said margin bar for moving the margin bar toward thee-nd of the bed, a cam carried by the platencarriage adapted to operate said crank during the return stroke of the carriage, an adjustable stop for determining the limit of movement of the margin bar with respect to the end of the gelatin bed, and

means for locking the margin bar in position said margin bar being movable toward and.

from the end of the bed, a crank arm on said shaft for moving the margin bar toward the end of the bed, a platen carriage reciprocable along said bed, and a cam member carried thereby to engage said crank during the impression and return stroke of the carriage to control movement of the margin bar.

10. In a duplicating machine the combina-' tion of a frame, a gelatin band supporting bed mounted on said frame, a platen carriage bridging the bed and reciprocable along said bed, a margin bar at the end of the bed adapted when in substantially the plane of the bed to receive the sheet inserted into the platen carriage, supporting means pivotall'y supporting the margin bar for swinging the bar into and out of the plane of the bed and connected to the margin bar at the ends thereof whereby a gelatin band directed over said bed may be passed between said supporting means and below said margin bar, and means on the carriage for controlling the movement of said margin bar supporting means in a direction away from the plane of the bed as the platen carriage approaches the limit of its return movement and in the reverse direction as the platen carriage moves on its impression stroke.

11. In a duplicating machine the combination of a frame, a gelatin. band supporting bed mounted on said frame, a platen carriage bridging the bed and reciprocal thereover, a

margin bar at the end of the bed adapted when in substantially the plane of the bed to receive a sheet inserted into the platen carriage, means pivotally supporting the margin bar for movement into andout of the plane of the bed, said means including a horizontally disposed member having depending portions. a shaft carried by the frame and having said depending portions secured thereto, means for moving said shaft to move the margin bar toward the end of the bed, a plate having elongated slots therein and disposed on said horizontally disposed member, means extended through saidelongated slots for se curing said plate to said member, said margin bar being mounted onsaid member.

12. In a duplicating machine the combination of a frame, a gelatin band supporting bed mounted on said frame, a platen carriage bridging the bed and reciprocal thereover, a margin bar at the end of the bed adapted when in substantially the plane of the bed to receive a sheet inserted into the platen carriage, means pivotally supporting the margin bar for movement into and out of the plane of the bed, said means including ahorizontally disposed member having depending portions, a shaft carried by the frame and having said depending portions secured thereto, means for moving said shaft to move the margin bar toward the end of the bed, and means pivotally mounted on the frame and engaging one of said depending portions for locking said margin bar in the plane of the bed. 1

. JOHN J. FLANIGA-N. 

